ATLANTA - A Mexican national will spend the next 30 years in federal prison for operating clandestine methamphetamine laboratories across the Atlanta area, federal officials announced Wednesday.
What we know:
Ramiro Contreras-Sandoval, 41, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross following his conviction for running conversion labs that housed more than 135 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine hidden in paint buckets. Contreras-Sandoval, who also went by several aliases including Manuel Santiago Vazquez and "Mirin," was also convicted of possessing firearms as an illegal alien to protect his drug trafficking operation.
The investigation began in April 2019, when law enforcement seized the methamphetamine mixture from a conversion lab in Morrow, Georgia. Contreras-Sandoval and his co-defendant, Genaro Davalos-Pulido, fled the area after a vehicle they were using to transport the drugs was stopped by police.
The pair remained at large until the fall of 2021, when agents tracked them to a neighborhood in Norcross, Georgia. During a search of a Norcross residence, agents discovered a full-scale liquid meth operation, a loaded Beretta handgun, $84,000 in cash, and a .50-caliber rifle that appeared ready for shipment to Mexico. Contreras-Sandoval was arrested nearby with approximately $12,000 in his vehicle and pockets.
What they're saying:
"This case should send a clear message to anyone thinking about running drugs or using deadly weapons to protect their operation: the federal government will relentlessly seek justice and protect the community from drug traffickers," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
"Operating methamphetamine labs is a reckless and dangerous crime," said Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. "This conviction underscores that DEA will aggressively pursue anyone who engages in drug trafficking activities that put lives at risk."
What's next:
Contreras-Sandoval’s 30-year sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release. His co-defendant, Davalos-Pulido, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2024.
The Source: The U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office provided the details for this article.